1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to authenticated documents such as certified court reporter transcripts and, in particular, to a secure online repository that provides authentication in which substantially each separate substantive page is independently authenticated as to both origin and custody.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Court reporter transcripts have long been prepared in paper form and authenticated by the signatures of the court reporters on certificates at the end of the transcript. Sometimes the signatures of the witnesses, on original copies of the paper transcripts, also appear. Much of the process of preparing such transcripts has been automated and transcripts are generally available in electronic form. See, for example, Bennett et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,970,141 and 6,282,510. Various symmetrical and asymmetrical encryption schemes are widely used to authenticate electronic data. Digital signatures, for example, are widely used in electronic commerce to authenticate electronic information. Elaborate schemes for authenticating a person's electronic affirmation of a document have been proposed. See, for example, Smithies U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,835. Methods have been proposed for inserting electronic signatures (not digital signatures) or other pre-recorded data fragments into e-mail messages. See, for example, Apfel et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,453. It had been proposed to impose a court reporter's signature as a non-transferable watermark on the reporter's certificate, and to print it at the bottom of every page of the transcript. It had been proposed that internet service providers be allowed to insert images (typically, advertisements such as banner ads) into predefined spaces on web pages as they are viewed by end users. See, for example, Capek U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,192.
Court reporter transcripts are unique in the particular requirements that are imposed on them. They are typically a verbatim record of sworn testimony, and they must, above all else, be accurate and remain accurate. The Courts rely on them in dispensing justice, and legislatures rely on them in making laws. Attorneys rely on them in shaping the presentation of cases. For the most part they must remain confidential unless and until placed on the public record. Witnesses typically must have access to them for purposes of review and correction. In a given matter some witnesses may have access to some but not all transcripts, and some but not all parties may have access to any given transcript or exhibit or a portion thereof. Security rights need to be tailored to fit each unique situation. Everyone involved must be sure that all transcripts are accurate and that each individual transcript is handled according to the individual rules for security rights that apply to that transcript. Also, transcripts are seldom used in their entirety. They are generally excerpted. This complicates the authentication of the excerpts. All of these often competing requirements can be handled manually by knowledgeable experienced people. Automating the system has proven to be a substantial and not yet fully addressed challenge.
There is a problem with the authentication of court reporter transcripts that is generally unique to such transcripts. Official transcripts in paper form are typically bound so that the signature pages appear within the bindings. Thus, being bound with the signature pages authenticates the other pages in the official transcript. Usually, however, only a few pages of the transcript are needed for a particular purpose. When a few pages are copied from an official transcript, a separate oath, or the like, must be used to authenticate them. When only a few pages are reproduced from an electronic file of a transcript, authentication becomes a serious problem. An electronic file is subject to being altered, and such alteration, under certain circumstances, leaves no trace. Exhibits are typically attached to a transcript. Such exhibits, particularly when in digital form, are also subject to undetectable alteration, and require authentication. Physical exhibits are typically represented by images. When reduced to digital form, most exhibits appear in image file formats. The transcript itself generally, but not necessarily, appears in a text file format.
The use of online repositories for transcripts (and other documents) had been proposed. In general, such depositories are in the form of secure web sites. Transcripts are deposited on such web sites in digital form with access to the transcripts being controlled by a system of security rights. Such security rights typically include at least user names and passwords. Often, such online repositories are maintained by or for, and are open to only one entity, such as a law firm. That is, they are not available to the public. There is always some risk that a transcript or exhibit will be altered while on such online repositories. That is, the integrity of the custody of the transcript while it is on the online repository is a potential problem. Further, records, or portions thereof are typically downloaded by various users from online repositories, and reproduced for purposes of inclusion in briefs or the like. The integrity of the substantive pages that are so reproduced by users needs to be assured on a page by page basis both as to the origin and custody of the each page. Anyone who relies on the content of a particular substantive page needs to be assured that the page accurately reflects the event described therein, was not altered in any way while on the repository, and was not altered when reproduced by the user. For purposes of flexibility of use, the authentication needs to proceed page by page.
Those concerned with these problems recognize the need for an improved all electronic official record where each substantive page of the record, including pages that are images, pages that are text, mixed pages, and the like, are separately authenticated both as to creation and custody. This would permit each page to be reproduced and used separate and apart from the rest of the record with assurances that it is a true copy of the record.
These and other difficulties of the prior art have been overcome according to the present invention.